Cybersecurity breaches are getting a lot of attention nationally, not only for its design and simplicity in execution but also for the astonishing ease at which it disrupts everyday systems. No longer just idle talk among a handful of states who have already passed privacy laws, or whispers in Congress of a uniform federal regulation, cybersecurity and data privacy thinkers and collaborators are rising to meet the moment. It is often overwhelming to think that protecting our proprietary information and wrestling back our private data will be one of the greater generational challenges going into the latter parts of this century.

Sure, it is easy to dismiss such cyber events as financially motivated. It is after all about the money when it comes to ransomware. But as we discover further, these breaches are too about gathering intelligence to unlock confidential trade secrets, opening a strategic business advantage, or simply draining resources to expose vulnerabilities. So preparation is key and proactive thinking will be a must. Some will rush to artificial intelligence to carry out the principle that offense is the best defense. But in the meantime, the laws are evolving quickly in this area with states stepping up to dictate the chorus of cyber readiness and compliance mandates, leaving aside that the European Union sprinted miles ahead years ago when it came to issues of cybersecurity and data privacy with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).